Friends and Family Discount at Bliss!

Click below for a 15% discount on facial, massages and body treatments at Bliss Spa! I've only experienced their basic massage and it was heavenly. I'm looking forward to a 'Ginger Rub' massage which includes a brisk rub of freshly-grated ginger root and warm detoxifying essential oils in a cozy foil wrap followed by a 100 minute massage. Ahhhh...

Hurry, this offer expires Oct 31st!

Save The Cheerleader, Save The World?

If you haven't been watching Heroes, I suggest that you stop reading now. While I'm not going to be summarizing any episodes, sooner or later (right after this sentence!) I'm going to refer to something that just happened and I don't want to ruin your Heroes fix.

Here's some Heroes food for thought:

Now that we're in Season 3, what exactly was so important about Season 1? Almost right off the bat, Sylar gets into Claire's brain box and uses his power of "intuitive comprehension" to study her brain and learn how to regenerate like Claire. Once he figures it out, it seems like he's about to leave and let her die (she doesn't appear to be regenerating while he's there), but he turns around and puts her skull cap back onto her head so she'll heal. I have 2 problems with this scene:


1) In Season 1, Claire gets exposed to a crazy level of radiation that chars her to a burnt husk. In Season 2, Claire cuts off her toe and it grows back completely. If she can regenerate all that, what was stopping her body from regrowing the top of her skull?

2) Does the phrase "Save the cheerleader, save the world" ring a bell? Sylar is a little nutty in the head, but when push came to shove, he let Claire live because in his brain excavation, he discovered that there was something Special about her that made her different from all of the other Heroes. If Sylar lets her live after performing some minor brain surgery...what's the point of the catch-phrase from Season 1?



Niki Sanders (Ali Larter). What's up with her? Didn't she die in an exploding house at the end of Season 2? I'll hazard 2 possible theories:

1) Through the end of last season, the only Power she's displayed is that her other persona, Jessica, has superhuman strength. I'll take this a step further and hazard the theory that her Power is her split personalities - and each personality has it's own Power. Enter, Tracy Strauss, the Ice Queen. With a Power like that, it'd be no problem to survive an explosion in a burning building. A little bit of memory loss immediately afterwards makes things convenient.

2) Niki Sanders really did die in the explosion. But did Niki Sanders' twin really die as explained in "Six Months Ago" (Season 1)? Perhaps, perhaps not. Niki only thought she died and her inability to "let go" of her twin was a psychological trauma that resulted in the formation of a split personality, Jessica, her "twin." Enter, Tracy Strauss, the Ice Queens, Niki's real long-lost and thought-to-be-dead twin sister.

See you next week!

Simpsons in Lego

Watch this cute video of The Simpsons introduction - LEGO style! The new season starts on September 28th, 8/7 Central on the FOX channel.

LeSportSac Sample Sale

Calling all LeSportSac fans!! Here's your chance for you to stock on some favorite bags.

From Sept 12-15,

Friday 9/12 8AM to 8pm
Saturday 9/13 10AM to 8pm
Sunday 9/14 11AM to 8pm
Monday 9/15 8AM to 4pm

Place:

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 west 18th street (between 6th and 7th avenues) south pavilion on the ground floor
212-736-6262 x2007

Prices are 60% to 70% off
Retail from 46 to $475. Now $18-168
Cash, credit accepted.

http://www.lesportsac.com/

Sushi Birthday Cake

Since it is someone's special birthday coming up...I've been researching different cakes on the Internet. Here's one that is a sushi cake, made of real Japanese sushi rice and layers of unagi (Japanese eel), egg, avocado, chicken, daikon and other ingredients. This Bunny blogger made one for her husband's birthday. She's also quite talented in making other yummy and healthy desserts!

Here's a close-up view of the different layers of the cake.

What do ya'll think? Yummy?? Or disgusting?

Would you eat it? I would think it would be very filling!

Feast of San Gennaro

The 81st Annual Feast of San Gennaro, New York City’s oldest, biggest and most famous religious street festival, will be celebrated in 2008 starting Thursday, September 11 and continuing for 11 days through Sunday, September 21.

Presented annually since 1996 by Figli di San Gennaro, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, this year’s Feast will again attract more than 1-million people to the streets of historic Little Italy in the annual salute to the Patron Saint of Naples – San Gennaro. The street festivities – including religious processions with the statue of San Gennaro, parades. free entertainment, food stands and a cannoli and a cannoli eating contest – are capped on Friday, September 19 – the Official Feast Day -- with a celebratory Mass honoring San Gennaro, followed by a candlelit procession as the Statue of San Gennaro is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street through the streets of Little Italy.

“Each year the beloved Feast of San Gennaro brings the world to Little Italy, and Little Italy to the world,” said Joseph Mattone, President of Figli di San Gennaro, Inc. “The Feast is a time for remembrance and reconciliation, and a time for celebration. The excellent food, the free musical entertainment and the excitement will all be there again this year, bigger and better than ever. On behalf of Figli di San Gennaro, I invite people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to join us in September in New York City’s Little Italy to help celebrate Italian culture and heritage.”

To see event schedules for the Feast, click here.

To see a list of participating restaurants in Little Italy, click here.

Red Mango: Frozen Yogurt

If you haven't caught onto the frozen yogurt craze by now (or fro-yo for the hard-core fans), Red Mango is a popular chain that has taken the USA by storm in the last few years. Pinkberry is another popular frozen yogurt chain as well and is often seen next door to each other especially in NYC. In fact, Pinkberry started making its way from California last year and I have to admit that I wasn't too impressed originally. Why should I pay an average of $4 for a cup of frozen yogurt and fruit toppings??

Well, Red Mango has changed my view on all things frozen. It is very similar to Pinkberry, yet worlds apart. The yogurt is distinctly tangy compared to other fro-yos. The toppings consist mainly of fruit such as mango, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries etc. (including non fruit options such as mochi and various cereal options....yeah, Fruity Pebbles!). However the ambience is distinctly different. The stores are more comfortable and offer more seating options. And I'm always lulled by the bright red decor at the Red Mango chains.

For more information on location, menus, and nutrition information, click here to go to the Red Mango website.

Hopping on the Staten Island Ferry

What is a blog about attractions in NYC without mentioning the Staten Island Ferry? By the way, for those of you that are unfamiliar with the ferry, it goes between Whitehall in lower Manhattan and St. George on Staten Island. The 5 mile ride is about 25 minutes long and provides beautiful views of Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Governor's Island, New Jersey, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The ferry operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but with more frequent service on the weekdays during the rush hour. And the best part is, the ride is free!! Where else in NYC would you get such a great experience for free? And to think that I've only taken the ferry twice in my lifetime.

Here are some beautiful pictures during my ferry ride. I recommend going up to the upper part of the boat to get the best views.

To read about my adventure to Governor's Island, click here.